Whenever you have watched professional golfers playing golf in the past, you may have never seen one sporting some cool or intimidating piercings.
Therefore, you may be wondering, why are no professional golfers pierced? Are professional golfers even allowed to have piercings?
In this article, we will answer these questions and tell you exactly why golfers are not typically pierced, as well as whether they are allowed to have piercings.
Can Professional Golfers Wear Piercings In The PGA Tour?
Yes, professional golfers are allowed to wear piercings. However, PGA Tour Dress Code limits the types of clothes players can wear, including clothes that show lots of skin and hence, certain piercings. A handful of professional golfers have piercings that are hidden by their clothes.
In fact, there are no rules in the PGA Rulebook that specifically discriminate against piercings, or other body modifications such as tattoos.
Technically, you can have any piercing you want on your body if you are playing on the PGA Tour. However, make sure the piercing design is not incredibly disrespectful (e.g. to the PGA), or you run the risk of being extraordinarily banned.
Why Do Golfers Not Have Piercings?
The main thing to remember here is that there is a relatively small, but relevant portion of golfers who wear piercings, but you might just not know it.
In fact, according to the PGA Tour Rules, there is no ban on piercings for professional golf players, but there is however a Dress Code.
The Dress Code holds the list of clothes professional golfers are allowed and prohibited from wearing. Generally, the PGA Tour Dress Code tends to avoid allowing golfers to wear clothes that show lots of skin, which is one of the major reasons why you might not see piercings often.
Piercings worn by professional golf players are sometimes covered up by the clothes they wear that need to abide by the PGA Tour Dress Code.
For example, tank tops are not permitted on a PGA Tour Golf Course. If tank tops were allowed in the PGA, you might notice some nipple rings come out every now and then from the loose fabric.
Examples of the clothes that are allowed on PGA Tour Golf Courses are shirts with collars, mock collars, slacks (“dressy” pants that are not too formal either), and shorts that rise no higher than 2 or 3 inches above the knee.
Other examples of prohibited clothes are jeans, sandals, shirts that show your nipples, and other casual types of clothes. You also are required to not show up without shorts or pants, and you cannot be shirtless.
PGA Tour players need to look presentable for the image of the sport of golf and for the cameras as the game is being televised worldwide. The PGA does not want to lose the image that golf is a classy, elegant sport.
Another reason why golf players might not have piercings, despite it being allowed, is that golf is known as an elegant, upper class sport.
Piercings carry a bit of a trashy, grunt, grimy kind of connotation with them, so golf players may avoid them for fear of not being accepted into golf communities, despite there not really being anything wrong with piercings. They are just pieces of metal or other materials.
In reality, it is much more likely you will find a piercing on a motorcyclist than on a golfer, simply because of society’s expectations of what the image of a golfer represents.
How Will People React To My Piercings On A Golf Course?
Like with almost everything in life, there will be mixed reactions.
Younger folks may compliment or see no issue with your exposed piercings, and brush them off as personal expression, or not even notice them, while old scrooges may give you a mean look for “not respecting the image of golf”.
Whatever the reaction is, you are allowed to wear all the piercings you want, even on your face, although you need to be mindful that our appearances do cause prejudice and generate emotions in others.
If you do not wish to ever be mistaken for a criminal or make people nervous and dial 911 on you, you should probably not get a face piercing.
On the other hand, for some people, piercings are a form of art and expression in which they can find energy and motivation to push through the low points in life. If you have piercings, own them.
No one should make you feel like you are less worthy as a golf player just because you have piercings; that is discrimination. The perfect “image” of a golfer is nothing more than a golden boy ideal; you do not need to model yourself after that.
If you are still not convinced that a few extra pieces of metal attached to your skin do not make you a worse golfer, look to some of the professional PGA Tour golfers that have piercings, such as Jason Duffner, Lydia Ko, and countless other female players.
All these golf players listed above have worn piercings on courses and are professional golf players that likely outrank anyone that could ever badmouth you on a golf course for having piercings.
The existence of these pierced players should prove to your subconscious mind that there is absolutely nothing wrong with being a pierced golf player, and that your performances will absolutely not suffer from having piercings.
Believe in yourself, and own every part of you that you cannot improve or that you intentionally designed.
Conclusion
There you go! After reading this article, you have learned whether professional golfers are allowed to wear piercings, and why more golfers do not sport piercings.
This article went over the PGA Tour rulings on piercings, the specific reasons why more golfers are not pierced, as well as how other people will view your piercings while you are on the golf course.
Do you like the idea of piercings on golfers? Do piercings break the elegance of golf? Let us know in the comments down below!
